Chapter 297: Viscount
“Why is it prohibited to learn about it?” Ye Cang asked doubtfully.
“Alina’s death probably wasn’t anything good.” Little Mar said while looking out the window.
Ye Cang raised his brows. The crucial information for his quest has been burned, it would be very difficult to figure out what happened during that time. He had already asked Little Ye Tian to check the books for him, but with her status, she could only see the first and second floors. He shook his head. Whatever, rushing won’t solve anything. Everything will naturally work out.
Little Mar said in a low voice, “Could you help me investigate some cult at Black Peaks. Although I’ve assigned the task to others, but I’m still a bit anxious. Once this matter is taken care of, the council will stop getting in my way…”
“Council?” Ye Cang wasn’t very familiar with the church’s inner workings.
“The council is the backbone of Black Rock City’s church…” Little Mar said.
“I got it.” Ye Cang nodded and received the quest.
The two of them got off the carriage. A gorgeous young lady with passionate red hair, a pleasant egg shaped face, and a friendly atmosphere looked at Little Mar. Ye Cang looked at the way she was dressed, and how the two bodyguards stood respectfully beside her. Clearly this was the family’s daughter. He immediately understood something, and looked at Little Mar. He teased, “Oh… this is your ‘good friend’.”
Little Mar smiled and introduced her, “This is Marquis Azshara’s beloved daughter, Aiki. This is a friend from my village, PaleSnow.”
Aiki nodded courteously towards Ye Cang. “Let’s go, father is in the living room…”
The three of the walked through the garden and arrived at a very large, but not extravagant, mansion. It had a medieval style. When they entered, they saw the portraits of past family members lining the walls, as if showing off how far their family history went. Ye Cang saw Azshara’s family crest, which is two maple leaves overlapping with each other. It wasn’t showy, but left a strong impression. The decorations inside were also not too extravagant.
Ye Cang followed Aiki to the living room. A handsome man smiled and looked towards them. Wale Azshara’s long hair hung loosely on his shoulders. Calling him a pretty-boy wouldn’t be an exaggeration. His voice was extremely graceful and steady. “Cross, this is PaleSnow who you worked so hard to recommend to me?”
“Lord Marquis, that’s right.” Little Mar saluted, then nodded. Ye Cang saw his salute, and followed suit.
“Don’t be an outsider…” Marquis Azshara said with a light smile. He looked Ye Cang up and down, then took out the viscount medal. “That batch of magic crystals allowed me to settle Black Rock City’s current shortage. Also, you’re a friend of Cross, so I won’t treat you unfairly. I appoint you as viscount…”
Ye Cang courteously received the medal, and said, “Thank you Lord Marquis for this favor.”
“Congratulations, you’ve been promoted to Viscount. Prestige in Black Rock City is now revered.”
Azshara was quite satisfied with Ye Cang’s lack of significant reaction. He didn’t disgrace himself by being startled and he was neither servile nor overbearing, he really was a capable person. He faced the two young men and said with a smile, “Why don’t you stay for a meal…”
Aiki happily went to inform the kitchen.
The two of them sat down.
It didn’t take long for the dishes to be served. There were only four people sitting at the table.
Ye Cang looked around curiously, looking for the missus, but didn’t feel it was right to ask about it. He drank the soup, the taste was pretty good. He used his spoon and identified the ingredients as he ate. Now that I know the ingredients, it will be easy to replicate it.
Ye Cang managed to understand a few things from their conversation. Marquis Azshara’s wife passed away while giving birth to Aiki, so he gave even more love to this daughter of his. When Little Mar came to Black Rock City, he had saved Aiki once, which gave rise to a friendship between the two. It wasn’t a friendship with a one-sided love. According to the three of them, they had recently decided on marriage. It was no wonder why Little Mar dared to present the demon crystals to Marquis Azshara. He was his father-in-law.
After the meal, Ye Cang tactfully took his leave. He didn’t want to be a third wheel. Since he had already received the viscount title, he quickly went to the administration center. With his identity as chief of Bal Village, he registered Bal Village and the surrounding area as his legal territory. He happily received the contract. When he left, he met ThornyRose and the girls once again. It seems like there were many more than last time. He raised his chin proudly, “Now I’m a viscount. If you attack me again, the guards will throw you in prison. Haha, hahaha…”
ThornyRose was amazed. He became a viscount so quickly!? Then she had second thoughts. That’s right, using so many resources to become one isn’t rare. I’m also almost a noble.
The guard at the door was the same one as last time. He yawned and pulled out a viscount medal. “Bro, Black Rock City has many barons and viscounts. Don’t judge me based on appearances, I’m actually the mayor of a small village around the outskirts.”
ThornyRose and the girls once again burst into laughter. Ye Cang glared angrily at the guards. Why must you rain on my parade! He sighed, then came up to ThornyRose and took out the shield. “Sell it to you for 150 gold, fixed price…”
“What shield is this, you actually dare ask for 150…” ThornyRose doubtfully looked at the shield’s stats. Gold quality! Something even better than distinguished! It’s even a top quality gold equipment, which was obvious due to the abyss tag. Stats wise, it leaned towards being resistance type armor, but even without the resistance, it was more than just a point or two better than her own. Such high resistance would vastly increase her defence against a fire type boss. Price wise, it was definitely worth the asking price. Even if he asked for twice as much, it wouldn’t be excessive. However, they were currently opening up an auction house, so she was temporarily short on funds. “I’ll give you 50 gold, the rest in cash.”
“Alright… but you have to address me respectfully as Lord Viscount. Otherwise, no deal…” Ye Cang smiled indifferently.
ThornyRose’s heart tightened, and she sighed deeply. He was becoming even more vain. She sent him the money, then clenched her fists and said, “Don’t push it…”
Ye Cang foresaw the danger, and quickly backed up. “I’ll let you off lightly this time. Remember to give me a big bonus!”
ThornyRose watched Ye Cang’s departing back, and couldn’t help smiling bitterly. Really a hard to understand guy. She touched her new shield, and her smile leaked out.
ElegantFragrance quietly said to the girl, “She’s lovestruck. Can’t you see?”
“The real Sister Zhen. Today, white hair gifted her a very valuable shield…” FrozenBlood broadcasted.
ThornyRose immediately roared, “I’m not f**king lovestruck! Also! I bought the shield! BOUGHT it!!”
Ye Cang returned to the general store. Little Ye Tian, who had received two new skills, returned in a hurry. Due to the ample funds and products, the general store had already made a profit of 300 gold which was given to Little Ye Tian.
The three of them began to talk about Bal Village, especially about setting up a second branch of Happy Filament’s General Store. Little Ye Tian had more or less created a rough plan. There would be more players going to Bal Village in the future. Black Peaks had many adventures and materials. It was an area that players definitely couldn’t miss out on, not to mention the wasteland past Bal Village. By investing in Bal Village, they could look forwards to great returns. Rica was also happy to agree. They were simply lacking personnel, but Rica assured them that they wouldn’t have to worry about that. She would take care of the workers as well as selecting a branch manager.
Ye Cang looked at Rica, who was so enthusiastic even at her age, and smiled. He passed her 5% of Happy Firmament General Store’s profit, which she tried to refuse, but was unable to change his mind. She watched his back as he left, her heart was emotionally touched. She recalled how they had met in Really New Village. They had saved Jesse, and taken great care of Jesse and herself. Then, when they had come to Black Rock City, they had trusted her with their store. Her old face smiled gently, as she turned and continued arranging the items…
The store was more or less tidied up. Ye Cang gathered everyone, and they once again left for Black Peaks. He explained the quest to investigate the evil cult that Little Mar had given them.
“This should be one of Black Rock City’s main storylines.” SpyingBlade had passed the dark judge’s trial by fire so was now also a member of the church. He was an assassin of the Dark Judges.
“Do we have any information about the evil cult?” FrozenCloud asked.
“Nothing specific. Only that there is an evil cult at Black Peaks…” Ye Cang replied superfluously.
FrozenCloud and Wu Na sighed helplessly.
“Since it’s a cult that the church wants to look into, then it must be Natural Disaster Paradise, Hall of Shadows, or the church of Mephisto or something like that. As for the others, the church doesn’t really care as it doesn’t conflict with their teachings. However, it’s unlikely that we’ll run into Natural Disaster Paradise here. The other cults have a corresponding opposite association, just like the Ritualist Association and Hell’s Disciples, God of War’s Temple and the Mad Shrine. The main conflicts in the game are about belief. The players are capable of having a large influence on the world, so I estimate that this season will become chaotic. It will be far worse than the other games.” Little Ye Tian analysed, based on the information she had gotten from books. She more or less understood the main religions on this continent. Her words made SpyingBlade, FrozenCloud, and the others fall into deep thought. As for Ye Cang and the idiots, they looked like it had nothing to do with them.
“Alright, don’t think too much. Let’s first go to Bal Village.” Ye Cang shrugged, then set out. Since he was free, he leisurely opened the menu and checked out his own stats.
Character: PaleSnow
Race: Half-Elf
Gender: Male
Class: Trainee Ranger
Titles: Blue Scaled Pioneer, Really New Village’s Diplomatic Hero.
Achievements: Friend of the Fishmen, Really New Village’s Light.
Level: 15
Strength: 85
Dexterity: 97
Constitution 78
Intelligence 115
Wisdom: 54
+78 Spell Power
+64 Spell Focus
Damage: 61 – 73
Health: 319 / 319
Mana: 284 / 284
Rage: 0 / 100
Energy: 100 / 100
Racial Traits
Diplomat (Human): Obtain +25% prestige. Raises social abilities.
Learned (Human): Every 10 levels, gain an additional talent point.
Graceful (Dark Elf): +1 Dexterity and another 1 every 5 levels. Proficiency with bows +1.
Magic Power (Sunfury Elf): +1 Intelligence and another 1 every 5 levels.
Aquatic Killer (Blue Scaled Fishman): Deal an additional 10% damage to aquatic creatures. Your swim speed and diving time have increased substantially.
Class Talents: Heart of a Ranger (Beginner Level), Ranger’s Mashup Spirit (Advanced Level), Azeroth’s Magic Proficiency (Intermediate Level), Mountain Forest Hunter (Intermediate Level), Ranged Master (Intermediate Level), Adventurer’s Essentials (Beginner Level), Tactics – Rapid Retreat (Beginner Level).
Common Talents: Clever and Deft (Beginner Level), Rapid Reflex (Beginner Level), Eagle Eye (Intermediate Level)
Class Skills: Precise Shot/Strike (Beginner Level), Rapid Fire (Passive – Intermediate Level), Meteor Shot (Beginner Level), Enchant Arrow – Fire (Beginner Level), Multishot (Beginner Level), Cloudwalk (Beginner Level), Hunter’s Mark (Beginner Level), Triple Shot (Beginner Level).
Common Skills: Minor Healing Stream (Beginner Level), Straight Thrust (Self-Made), Multiple Straight Thrust (Self-Made), Dashing Straight Thrust (Self-Made), Mirror Image (Intermediate Level), Steal Spell (Intermediate Level), Flame Burst (Beginner Level), Ice Shards (Beginner Level), Entangling Roots (Beginner Level), Thorns Armor (Beginner Level), Tidal Wave (Beginner Level), Shadow Skills (Beginner Level).
